Inspire Political Discourse

Dodd Excoriates GOP for Obstructionism on Financial Reform Bill

Via Think Progress

Despite months of bipartisan negotiation and promises of cooperation, Republicans recently threatened to filibuster the bill. A visibly angry Dodd took to the Senate floor today to condemn the GOP’s obstructionism, calling out their “very false talking points” and warning them that they will have to explain to Americans, “I’m sorry but we’re not on your side:”

DODD: A letter from the Minority Leader said we’ve got 41 votes here to stop you from even debating this bill. Well, you explain that to the American taxpayer, to the small business, to the American family, and to others out there who are paying an awful price because the the mess that the very institutions who are today leading the charge against us getting a bill. Explain to them why the status quo is in their interest and their benefit. Mr. President, those who vote to block this bill will be sending a clear message to American families, businesses, community bankers and tax payers and that message will be, I’m sorry but we are not on your side. We are choosing another side of this equation.

Last month, my good friend the Minority Leader and the Republican senator responsible for campaign fundraising participated in meeting in New York with Wall Street executives. … Comes back right afterwards and we get all of a sudden, we get this rhetoric about too big to fail and we can’t possibly go to this bill. Don’t tell me that miraculously, these things happen and all of sudden we find ourselves with 41 senators [opposed to this bill].

Too Many Wall Street Shills ...

McConnell (R-Ky) managed to get 41 GOP senators to vote against even DEBATING the financial reform bill. This, after his private meeting with Sen. Cornyn and a group of 25 Wall Street executives, most of them hedge fund managers, a week earlier.

As a financial reform bill starts to take shape in Washington, two key lawmakers came to New York City last week to explain what it means for Wall Street, and how financial executives might help prevent some of its least market-friendly aspects from becoming law by electing more Republicans, FOX Business Network has learned.

About 25 Wall Street executives, many of them hedge fund managers, sat down for a private meeting Thursday afternoon with two of the most powerful Republican lawmakers in Congress: Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and John Cornyn, the senior senator from Texas who runs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, one of the primary fundraising arms of the Republican Party.

The undercurrent of the gathering, however, was undeniably political. [......]

It was revealed earlier in the week that McConnell's talking points came directly from a memo created by GOP pollster, Frank Luntz, and are nearly all completely false.

McConnell's hometown paper published a scathing editorial titled "McConnell to big banks' rescue". The Lexington Herald-Leader accuses McConnell of  pandering to Wall Street executives ,as well as his repetition of the false talking points created by Luntz. 

Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party Stands in Defense of Wall Street and Against Financial Reform

Last week McConnell attended a private meeting with 25 Wall Street executives, many of them hedge fund managers.

What McConnell did not mention was that, last week, he traveled alongside National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. John Cornyn (TX) to New York City for a private meeting with elite hedge fund managers and other Wall Street executives. The purpose of the meeting between the top Republicans and the financial executives was to enlist “Wall Street’s help” in funding Republican campaigns in the fall and killing any tough financial reform:[......]

This week McConnell has thrown down the gauntlet, refusing to deal on Dodd's financial  
reform bill. His excuse making harkens back to the much publicized GOP strategy memo written by pollster Frank Luntz. In point of fact, his arguments against reform are close to exactly as Luntz urged the GOP to make.

In order to prevent future taxpayer bailouts of the big banks, to prevent our economy from spinning out of control again, to protect our country from financial insolvency, we must legislate financial reform. Period. The removal of controls on the financial services industry is what got us in to this mess to begin with. If we listen to the Republicans we are asking for more of the same.

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Noting Republican Hypocrisy

The story, via Talking Points Memo:

The White House has just announced that President Obama has made fifteen recess appointments, including several for hot-button nominees. These are appointees Republicans refused to allow votes on and for which the president's supporters have been pressing for recess appointees.

Notable on the list are Craig Becker to NLRB and Chai Feldblum to EEOC.

The Republican rage and hypocrisy, via HuffPost:

President Obama's decision to bypass the vacationing Senate and directly appoint 15 nominees has produced some expected cries of outrage from Republicans.

An overview of GOP obstruction of Obama administration appointments via Think Progress:

Senate Republicans have used parliamentary tactics to hold up the confirmation of critical administration nominees to an unprecedented degree. Yesterday, Obama warned that “if the Senate does not act,” he would be forced to make recess appointments to fill critical jobs, because “we cannot allow politics to stand in the way of a well-functioning government.”

Former Bush Speechwriter, David Frum, on the Republican HCR Waterloo

George W. Bush's former speechwriter, David Frum, on the passage of the health care reform bill:

“Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s.

 

It’s hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster. Conservatives may cheer themselves that they’ll compensate for today’s expected vote with a big win in the November 2010 elections.

 

No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored a 1994 style landslide in November, how many votes could we muster to re-open the “doughnut hole” and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their parents’ insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there – would President Obama sign such a repeal?

 

We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat.

 

So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours. [.....]

Note to Congress: Reconcile That Baby!

Health Care Reform is too long past overdue.

The Democrats have worked in good faith with Republicans who care more for their corporate masters than they do for the American people.

The time has come to move past the obstructionists, and do what is needed.

In 14 out of the 22 times that reconciliation has been used since 1981, it was used by the GOP.

And not just on minor issues, but on very major and controversial issues such as the Contract for America, Medicare reform, tax cuts for the wealthy, welfare reform, etc..

The hypocrites be damned.

Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY] calls out the Republicans in Congress on their corporate ownership.

The Truth About the Uninsured and Emergency Room Services

The GOP likes to say that

In this country, the uninsured are covered by emergency room services.

This is only slightly truthful, and more false than it is true, with the actual truth being, of course,  far more complicated.

The uninsured are ONLY covered by ER care in so far as STABILIZATION. They do NOT receive one tiny bit more care than is necessary to STABLIZE the condition for which they sought care via the emergency room. The underlying condition is not treated.

REAL LIFE EXAMPLES:

1.  Bob goes to the ER because he is having difficulty breathing. He also has lung cancer which is the underlying issue re his breathing difficulty. Bob is given a breathing treatment, and referred to an oncology specialist.

The oncology specialist will not see him because Bob has no insurance. Bob is relegated to dying of treatable lung cancer without even the ability to obtain the drugs needed to control his pain as he dies.

Bob is also billed an outrageous amount for this minimal care. It is certainly not given freely, and the hospital will SUE Bob or his family if it is not paid.

THIS is what happens to the uninsured.

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In the emergency room, the uninsured are ONLY TREATED FOR STABILIZATION, NOT FOR THE UNDERLYING CONDITION.

2. Mary has an asthma attack, goes to the ER where she is stabilized, and sent home within a couple of hours with 3 prescriptions.
Without prescription coverage, the cost of these 3 common prescriptions is $442 for a one-month supply, and Mary has to make the decision between the drugs and food because she is on a fixed income. .
Mary is subsequently billed by the hospital for $1800, which she also can not afford.

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3.  Tom-- a twenty year old college student who was covered under his step-father's insurance plan until his step-dad divorced Tom's mom. He now has no insurance, and can not currently work because of what turns out to be a herniated disc in his spine.

He lives with constant pain, and does not go to the doctor because of an inability to pay.

One evening, unable to tolerate the worsening pain, he begs his mother to take him to the hospital.
He is examined, and told he must see a specialist, and undergo an MRI. He receives a couple of Vicodin for pain, and a prescription for an anti-inflammatory, as well as Vicodin. .

His mom fills the prescriptions for him, but they can not find a specialist who will work with him because he has no insurance coverage.

Meanwhile, the hospital bills him for the visit at the rate of $4000. He can't pay it, it is sent to a collection agency and his credit is ruined at the age of 20.

THIS is the reality of the uninsured.

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AMERICA is the ONLY COUNTRY IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD that does NOT TAKE CARE OF ITS CITIZENS.

Maddow Outs the GOP on Their Overwhelming Hypocrisy

An excellent piece in which Maddow is able to factually demonstrate the complete and utter hypocrisy of the GOP.

Will the Republicans Attempt to Impeach President Obama? Yes.

From Bob Cesca, on the Huffington Post:

If the Republicans ever manage to retake Congress, they will absolutely try to impeach President Obama. And it'll be based upon a supremely ridiculous charge such as, say, the president refusing to nourish our crops with a sports drink instead of water.

Okay, so maybe the Idiocracy example is over-the-top, but if we follow the current trajectory of far-right attacks to their logical yet insane conclusion, it makes sense in a very eerie way. Have you seen the television commercials solemnly defending our right to poison our kids with "juice drinks and soda?" There you go.

I've been following the Republican descent into the realms of the bizarre for some time now, and it wasn't until the "czars" thing broke that I became convinced that if they retook Congress the Republicans might try to impeach the president. The grounds for both the impeachment and the language used to sell it will likely be fabricated by either Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.

I mean, 100 Republican members of Congress have signed onto Rep. Jack Kingston's cartoonish czar bill. 100 House Republicans out of 177 have attached their names to a bill that was essentially invented as a television bit by Glenn Beck without any regard for the fact that "czar" is a nickname invented by the press, and that every president -- all of them! -- has employed policy and political advisers within their administrations. But it functions as an effective Beck attack because he knows his audience isn't bright enough to distinguish "czars" from "communists." By the way, not to be out-crazied by his House colleagues, Senator Ensign introduced an amendment to the Finance Committee health care reform bill called "Transparency in Czars." This might as well be "Transparency in Hobbits" because it's just that ludicrous.

Nevertheless, there's a growing conventional wisdom in the press alleging that both sides of the political spectrum are equally guilty of wackaloon attacks and conspiracy theories.

Granted there might be one or two very fringe exceptions but this is otherwise a false equivalency written by the establishment media as part of their self-conscious effort to seem balanced. The distinction is that any "fringe" attacks from the left during the Bush years weren't mainstreamed and legitimized the way the wingnut attacks are today, even though the fringe attacks from the left turned out to be mostly accurate.

Continue reading http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-impeachment-of-presid_b_297330.html

David Plouffe Takes Aim at the New Leader of the GOP

:: David Plouffe provides some perspective for the party of "NO!" on their choice of Rush Limbaugh-aka-the-sphereazoid-sleazy-manhood-cruncher-former?-druggie-I-hope-Obama-fails-right-wing-radio-show-lunatic, as their new leader.

Aren't you people (Republicans) embarrassed? For gawd's sake, the GOP has become a party ruled by 6-year-olds! From The Washington Post:

The 2008 election sent many messages. At the top: Americans wanted to turn the page on the politics of division and partisan pettiness, and they wanted a government -- and country -- that would put the middle class first.

Watching the Republicans operate this past month, it would appear that they missed that unmistakable signal.

Instead, Rush Limbaugh has become their leader.

Limbaugh, of course, told his radio listeners that he's rooting for President Obama to fail -- and hoping the president's ideas for bolstering our economy fail with him. For many Americans, hungry for leadership and cooperation, this sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. When Limbaugh reiterated the sentiment this weekend, hundreds of Republican conservatives cheered him on. But instead of rebuking the radio personality or charting their own course, Republican leaders in Washington are paralyzed with fear of crossing their leader. Less than 24 hours after committing the unforgivable sin of criticizing Limbaugh, RNC Chairman Michael Steele felt compelled to publicly apologize. He was not the first and will certainly not be the last.

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At C-PAC, Day 2: Cornyn Pleads for Moderation, Even as the Wingnuts Seek Revolution

:: It is a true pity that moderation, and the GOP, have long since parted ways. Nice try, Cornyn. Your brethren are not smart enough to listen.

From HUFFPOST:

"I would rather have a Republican who votes with me 80 percent of the time than a liberal Democrat who would vote with me 0 percent of the time," said the Texas Republican. "I understand that occasionally we get frustrated by the way that some of my colleagues vote, I do too. But a circular firing squad is no solution to the problems our party faces right now."

It was one of the few times that the audience had been asked to put aside their ideological orthodoxy in exchange for electoral leverage. Indeed, the vast majority of speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference had enthusiastically rejected the notion that the Republican Party needed a re-thinking of its philosophical pillars. What was needed, they offered, was firmer, more passionate and aggressive opposition to the Democratic powers that be. As if on cue, the very next speaker to address the crowd, Sen. Jim DeMint, laced into congressional leadership -- accusing it of a lack of willingness to say the word "freedom" -- and the president himself, calling Barack Obama "the world's best salesman of socialism."

Personally, I find it very amusing, as well as disgusting how the GOP consistently attacks spending when out of power; when back in power, the GOP spends like a 16-year-old girl with her daddy's credit card. And,  the GOP only spends the $ on the very wealthy. The GOP is the party that epitomizes pure GREED.
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How the Republican Party Has Defined Itself, and What We Must Do About It

I hate that I have been unable to report the political news for the past two weeks. In part because I truly enjoy it, but primarily because it has been completely mind-boggling to watch the GOP as they finish themselves off via their refusal to work for their constituents and their country rather than the corporate interests who put them in office, and the party who now claims Rush Limbaugh as it's fearless leader, and Joe-the-not-a-plumber as a valued adviser (and don't even let me get started on Joe-the-freaking-loser-idiot!!).

On the other hand, I believe that it is naive to expect the GOP to work in concert with a Democratic leadership. Good for the country though it would most certainly be, the Republicans have shown complete disdain for Democrats for at least 28 years now, and during the reign of Bush-the-Fascist-King, the intensity of that disdain only grew ever larger. The Republican party with whom we often managed to find consensus in the distant past, is gone. In it's place is a a theo-fascist amalgam which seeks to serve only itself and corporate interests. That amalgam, combined with their unwillingness to live up to their original credo, and go for fiscal restraint, makes them a very out-dated, and dangerous force in this country, and yet still a force with which we must deal, until they go the way of the Whig party. More on the dealing with the Repubs in a later post.

At this point, the GOP has become, through it's own doing, nothing more than a regional fringe party for the wealthy, and the stupid, with common ground in their worship of theocratic values, social absence, and civil inequality. These people are not our partners or friends, in fact, they demonize and disdain everything even approaching liberal thought. We must make sure that they are even further marginalized and made completely irrelevant prior to the 2010 elections. We can not afford not to. 

 

Frank Rich/NYT on Michael Steele:

Steele’s argument against the stimulus package is that “in the history of mankind” no “federal, state or local” government has ever “created one job.” As it happens, among the millions of jobs created by the government are the federal investigators now pursuing Steele for alleged financial improprieties in his failed 2006 Senate campaign.

FULL VIDEO: President Obama's First Press Conference - February 9, 2009

To read the complete transcript, click here.

IPD Random Politics Weekly - February 1, 2009

Cartoon by Dan Wasserman

 

Where's the loyalty? Phil Gingrey, in his short-lived blast @ Rush Limbaugh, thoroughly emasculated in front of the world. The two GOP tools he was defending, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, watched without lifting the proverbial finger. Gingrey is forced to apologize to Limbaugh. McConnell and Boehner are completely pathetic asses. [H/T Jason Linkins]

Johnny and Rush -  John McCain, who has long loved to call himself bipartisan, and sure as hell shoved it down our throats falsely when campaigning, stands up for NO. 1 GOP partisan, Rush Limbaugh in his assholishness towards President Obama.
McCain.YOU.SUCK. Limbaugh.YOU.SUCK.MORE.

The Dems and the business tax cuts -  Give it up. The partisan Repugs are not holding out a vote, they are holding out forked, sharp sticks. Take the damn business tax cuts back out, and tell 'em to screw themselves. We have a freaking majority. Use that power. Repugs = IRRELEVANT.

President Obama, and the 111th Congress -  Wall Street needs to understand that they can not take taxpayer money and then proceed to do business as freaking usual. Make them take back those bonuses and put someone in place to monitor their every idiotic move. You owe it to us. The American taxpayers. Really. DO. IT. 2012 is approaching.

That's it for this week, unless you have something to add via a comment.

Matt Yglesias and Rachel Maddow on Conservative Obstructionism to the Economic Recovery

They are both right on target. An excellent interview, well worth watching.

Hat Tip: Think Progress
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Political News Summary: Tuesday, January 27, 2009

:: Rush Limbaugh copies GOP liars, makes false claim that ACORN is mentioned in the stimulus and will receive $4.19 billion. What a sad loser cherub-cheeked Rushie is...... From Media Matters:

Summary: Parroting GOP talking points, Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed $4.19 billion of President Barack Obama's economic recovery package "is going to ACORN." In fact, the bill does not mention ACORN or otherwise single it out for funding.

TAGS: Rush Limbaugh, Conservative Pundits, GOP/Republicans, President Obama, LIES,
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